YOSHIHIDE SUGA

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the country’s central figure in landing the 2020 Olympics for Tokyo.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, despite an underwhelming start eight months ago, is enjoying surprising popularity by playing it safe as the public's worries about the coronavirus and global conflicts ease.

Hundreds of thousands of foreigners have been denied entry to study, work or visit families in Japan, which has kept its doors closed to most overseas visitors during the pandemic.

Tokyo has launched a mass inoculation drive for COVID-19 booster shots at a temporary center operated by the military as Japan tries to speed up delayed third jabs to counter surging infections.

President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have used their first formal meeting to discuss concerns about China’s growing military assertiveness.

President Joe Biden will meet virtually with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan on Friday.

After slow starts, vaccination campaigns in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region now boast inoculation rates that rank among the world’s best.

Japan's Cabinet has approved a record 56 trillion yen, or $490 billion stimulus package, including cash handouts and aid to ailing businesses, to help the economy out of the doldrums worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

Fumio Kishida is set to be reelected as Japan's prime minister after clearing the first major test of his leadership in recent elections.

Asian shares are mixed amid cautious trading ahead of a Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting.

Stocks have advanced in Asia, with Tokyo's benchmark up 2.5% after the ruling Liberal Democrats won a stronger than expected majority in an election Sunday.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says Japan should revitalize its economy through “new capitalism" and many in this country are puzzled over exactly what he has in mind.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s coalition kept a comfortable majority in a parliamentary election despite losing some seats.

Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces a crucial test in Sunday's national parliamentary elections, which will determine if his government will have enough support to stay in power long enough to repair the pandemic-hit economy, and tackle climate change and China’s rise.

Japan has adopted a new energy policy that promotes nuclear and renewables as sources of clean energy to achieve the country’s pledge of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has dissolved the lower house of parliament for Japan’s first elections of the pandemic.

In his first policy speech, new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to strengthen the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in case of another resurgence and revive its battered economy while bolstering defenses against threats from China and North Korea.

Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has held his first talks since taking office with President Joe Biden and confirmed they will work together to strengthen their alliance in regional security in the face of growing challenges from China and North Korea.

Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will dissolve the lower house next week in preparation for Oct. 31 elections as he seeks a fresh mandate to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the sagging economy and security threats from China and North Korea.

Tokyo’s train stations were packed with commuters Friday morning as Japan fully came out of a coronavirus state of emergency for the first time in more than six months.

The two women in the Japanese governing party’s four-way leadership race was a step forward for gender equality.

Japanese prosecutors are accusing former Nissan executive Greg Kelly of joining a “conspiracy” to pay his former boss Carlos Ghosn illicitly, as a yearlong trial wraps up.

Former Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has won the governing party's leadership election and is set to become the country's next prime minister.

Australia's government is ramping up pressure on states to end pandemic lockdowns by outlining plans to end financial aid.

Asian shares are mostly lower as concerns about China chip away at investor optimism after a mixed finish on Wall Street.

Global shares are mostly lower as concerns about China chip away at investor optimism.

Asian shares have fallen sharply after a broad slide on Wall Street as investors reacted to a surge in U.S. government bond yields.

Japan’s governing party chooses a new leader on Wednesday to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Japan’s government says the coronavirus state of emergency will end Thursday to help rejuvenate the economy as infections slow.

Asian share are mostly higher, but skepticism about the regional economic outlook tempered the rally amid worries about further waves of COVID-19 outbreaks.

Two women are among candidates for Japan’s governing party leadership for the first time in 13 years in what seems like a big step in the country's male-dominated politics.

President Joe Biden has met with other leaders of an Indo-Pacific alliance known as “the Quad” as he wraps up a week of diplomacy with both allies and adversaries.

President Joe Biden has used his first address before the U.N. General Assembly to summon allies to quickly address the festering issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and human rights abuses.

President Joe Biden plans to use his first address before the U.N. General Assembly to reassure the international community of American leadership on the global stage.

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street Friday, marking a feeble ending to an up-and-down week of trading.

Official election campaigning started Friday for the next head of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party.

Official campaigning has begun for the new head of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, who typically becomes the national leader because of the party’s control over parliament.

Asian shares are mixed after a hodge-podge of economic data led Wall Street to close mostly lower.

President Joe Biden has announced that the United States is forming a new Indo-Pacific security alliance with Britain and Australia that will allow for greater sharing of defense capabilities — including helping equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

An F-16 screeched across the sky before landing on a highway cut through pineapple fields in southwestern Taiwan to refuel quickly and take off again.

The White House says President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Australia, India and Japan for an in-person meeting later this month.

Japan has extended a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and 18 other areas until the end of September as health care systems remain under severe strain, although new infections have slowed slightly.

Shares have fallen in Asia after further losses on Wall Street following a Federal Reserve report showing U.S. economic activity slowed this summer.

The Tokyo Paralympics have closed to end a saga that began eight years ago when the Japanese capital was named the host city by the International Olympic Committee.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says he won’t run in a governing party leadership vote this month, paving the way for a new Japanese leader.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has met in Tokyo with Japan's foreign minister to discuss efforts to involve China and developing nations to fight climate change ahead of a United Nations conference in November.

The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says it plans to build an undersea tunnel so that massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water can be released into the ocean about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) away from the plant to avoid interference with local fishing.

Japan has expanded its coronavirus state of emergency for a second week in a row, adding eight more prefectures as a surge in infections fueled by the delta variant strains the country’s health care system.

Japan, Australia and New Zealand all got through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in relatively good shape — but now are taking diverging paths in dealing with new outbreaks of the fast-spreading delta variant.

Japan’s exports in July jumped 37% from a year ago, highlighting an overseas recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has officially expanded and extended the nation’s coronavirus state of emergency as government advisers recommend legal changes that would allow penalties for violations.

All fans will be barred from the Paralympics because of the coronavirus pandemic just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics.

Japan’s “state of emergency” for curbing surging COVID-19 cases will continue through Sept. 12 rather than ending this month as originally planned.

The Tokyo Olympics have ended, but it’s still vacation season in Japan and many people are ignoring government requests to avoid travel and gathering at bars and restaurants even as the coronavirus spikes.

When the Tokyo Olympics began during a rising number of coronavirus cases, the majority of the host nation were in opposition.

Hiroshima has marked the 76th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing, with the mayor of the Japanese city urging global leaders to unite to eliminate nuclear weapons, just as they are united against the coronavirus.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged that 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines would be supplied to the world through this year, increasing China’s commitment as the largest exporter of the shots.

Tokyo has reported 5,042 new coronavirus cases, its most since the pandemic began as infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics.

Japan is playing host to the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan’s government is introducing a contentious new policy in which coronavirus patients with moderate symptoms will isolate at home instead of in hospitals, as new cases surge in Tokyo to record levels during the Olympic Games.

Coronavirus infection cases have reached daily records in Tokyo, now playing host to the Olympic Games.

Japan has expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to four more areas in addition to Tokyo on Friday following record spikes in infections as the capital hosts the Olympics.

Japanese officials have sounded the alarm as Tokyo reported record-breaking coronavirus cases for the third straight day with the Olympics well underway.

Tokyo has reported 3,177 new coronavirus cases, setting an all-time high and exceeding 3,000 for the first time days after the start of the Olympics.

Japan's capital, Tokyo, has reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections days after the Olympics began.

How are we to judge the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics when they wrap up in two weeks.

The Russian prime minister on Monday visited the Pacific islands claimed by Japan and said the government is considering setting up a special economic zone there.

Staging an Olympics during the worst pandemic in a century.

Japan’s prime minister met with Pfizer’s CEO in an unusually high-profile setting to make sure the drugmaker would deliver COVID-19 vaccine it has promised to the nation.

Japan’s “rising sun” flag is a focus of anger at the Olympics, with some in the Koreas, China and other Asian nations calling for it to be banned during the Tokyo Games.

South Korea says it’ll extend the toughest distancing rules imposed on the greater Seoul area for another two weeks, as it’s battling its worst coronavirus outbreak.

Tokyo has hit another six-month high in new COVID-19 cases one day before the Olympics begin, as worries grow of a worsening of infections during the Games.

Jill Biden is in Tokyo on her first solo international trip as first lady.

The Tokyo Olympics are going ahead despite opposition from many quarters inside Japan, and politics are everywhere.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says the world needs to see that Japan can stage a safe Olympics.

A Japanese composer working on the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has quit after coming under fire for bullying classmates during his childhood.

South Korea’s Olympic committee says it has removed banners at the Olympic athletes’ village in Tokyo which referred to a 16th-century war between Korea and Japan.

Mississippi’s only level-one trauma hospital and academic medical center will require all employees and students who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear an N95 mask while inside, a decision that a top official acknowledged would not be popular with everyone in the country’s least vaccinated state and may result in the loss of employees.

Leaders of Asian Pacific nations have agreed to step up coronavirus vaccination sharing efforts.

IOC President Thomas Bach got a mixed reception in his visit to Hiroshima to mark the first day of the so-called Olympic Truce.

U.S. President Joe Biden, China's Xi Jinping, Japan's Yoshihide Suga and Vladimir Putin of Russia are among Pacific Rim leaders gathering virtually to discuss strategies to help economies rebound from a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic.

Tokyo has reported its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in almost six months.

South Korea has reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases for the sixth straight day as the greater capital area entered stringent social distancing restrictions to slow transmissions.

Shares are mostly lower in Asia after stocks pulled back from their recent record highs on Wall Street as bond yields fell and investors turned cautious.

The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says it has reached an agreement with Japan on helping monitor and review the release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Japan is set to place Tokyo under a state of emergency that would last through the Olympics, fearing a COVID-19 surge will multiply during the Games.

New COVID-19 cases in Tokyo have hit a two-month high that almost guarantees the Japanese government will declare a new state of emergency to start next week and continue for the duration of the Tokyo Olympics.

New Zealand medical regulators have approved use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, after earlier in the year approving the Pfizer vaccine.

The pressure of hosting an Olympics during a pandemic is evident in Japan.

More than 1,000 soldiers, firefighters and police have joined rescue efforts after a giant mudslide ripped through a resort town southwest of Tokyo, killing at least two people and leaving about 20 missing.

The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has repeated that banning fans from venues is still an option with the games opening in just three weeks.

After months of delays due to political and bureaucratic bungling as well as a shortage of vaccines, inoculations in Japan are taking off, and the drive is now racing down to the wire with the Olympics starting in one month.

The head of the Imperial Palace in Japan says Emperor Naruhito is “extremely worried” that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics could accelerate the spread of the coronavirus.

The Tokyo Olympics are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes.

Anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in cities across Brazil as the nation’s confirmed death toll from COVID-19 soared past half a million.

Japan has announced the easing of a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and six other areas from next week, with new daily cases falling just as the country begins final preparations for the Olympics starting in just over a month.

Public sentiment in Japan has been generally opposed to holding the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics partly based on fears the coronavirus will spike as almost 100,000 people enter for both events.

Japanese companies have joined the effort to speed up the country's lagging coronavirus vaccine rollout before the Tokyo Olympics begin next month.

Hawaii says a vaccinated Oahu resident who traveled to Nevada last month has tested positive for the delta variant of COVID-19.